


After The Dance

by Unoriginalpoet



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: After the dance - Freeform, Episode: s03e02 The Headband, F/M, Inspired by Art, More than a One-shot, Not Canon Compliant, Sapphire Fire, changing the script, drawn out somewhat, footloose fire nation kids, hide and the headmaster don't interrupt this time, jealousy helps, kuzon - Freeform, kuzon dancing with his mom, little things lead to heated moments, some good toph advice, there may be a kiss, wang fire - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27362614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unoriginalpoet/pseuds/Unoriginalpoet
Summary: What would've happened had Hide and the Headmaster not crashed Aang's dance party? Well, it may have gone something like this with just a little jealousy to push things along...
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara - Relationship
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	1. Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Inspired by the deviantart piece 'Kataang - After the Dance'. A no snitch ending to the headband along with some canon romance! It's been done before, but it always seemed rushed with none of the tension I wanted to see so, here's my take on how things may have led up to that moment after their dance!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing of ATLA or it's characters. If I did, this episode would not have ended with just a kiss on the cheek!
> 
> UPDATE: The kiss is in the last chapter so if you don't want to read about Aang dealing with his feelings then you may want to skip right to it!

He needed to cool off. Fast. That was all he knew after he pulled the girl in his arms back up to her feet and the sudden eruption of clapping and some shouts from the kids around them filled the air. They took a shy bow, his body still tingling with adrenaline, and he couldn't help glancing over at her, immediately finding a pair of crystal blue eyes gazing back at him, face just as tinged as his probably was. He was well aware of the warmth that had overcome his body after their…dance, but he hoped the heat on his cheeks wasn't as noticeable as it felt as he tried to regain control of his breathing and straightened up. She did so in unison with him, ocean blues still locked with his slate grays, and suddenly the need to say something to her seized his lips. ' _That was…_ ' What was he going to say? _Amazing_? _Exhilarating_?

He opened wider his mouth, having already been parted to ease the intake of oxygen that was desperately needed by his lungs, to say whatever words had pushed their way up his tightened throat, but he didn't have the chance to. To his dismay, the space between them began to grow. In the blink of an eye, he felt a few hands on his shoulders pulling him back as a small group of the fire academy students began crowding around him, each sputtering out their awe and amazement at the scene he and Katara just displayed. He quickly rolled to the balls of his feet to keep sight of her, but the kids just as quickly blocked any semblance he may have had; her dark brown hair only becoming a hazy wisp that disappeared in the crowd.

"Kuzon, that was AMAZING"

"How did you learn to dance like that?"

"I can't believe what I just saw"

"Man, you colony folk sure know how to move!"

He flashed them a brief, but awkward smile, quietly breathing a distracted, "Thanks guys", before moving back up to the balls of his feet in an attempt to peer over their shoulders. It came out as a quick, and slightly annoyed breath, but he tried to be polite at their obvious excitement. They were not the ones he wanted to be talking to right now, his body language trying to convey that simple truth to them, and the girl in question was almost as elusive to find as the air that was slowly being eaten up within the cave. As much as he tried to ignore them, his sensitive hearing managed to pick up on one short exchange by two of the boys a few heads away from him.

"That was intense. Did you see the girl he was dancing with? I'd roast a few hot flakes with her anytime"

"I've never seen her before. Do you think she's with Kuzon?"

"If she isn't then I'm not going to wait until she is. Come one, let's go see if she's still around!"

Immediately his stomach lurched and a scowl contorted his face as he whipped around to them, all thoughts of finding Katara momentarily paused as all he wanted to do was make very sure that whoever these two boys were, they knew to keep their eyes and whatever else they thought about laying on her to themselves. ' _I'll show you where you can roast your hot flakes_ '

But just as fast as jealousy seared its way through him, his face fell once he locked eyes with them. One nagging thought managed to make itself known over the many things he pondered doing to get the message across as _clearly_ and _effectively_ as possible to the two students, and it stopped him dead in those tracks as he realized there was no message to communicate to them. They were _friends_. He was ready to tell them off as if Katara was his, that he had some claim on her that no one could refute and their words coming dangerously close to encroaching on that, but… he didn't. Begrudgingly so, heart dropping to his stomach as reality once again slapped him in the face that there was nothing between them and there certainly was no _us_ , he bit his tongue and screwed his eyes shut, opting to look away all together from them than to watch their wide eyes slowly narrow and the two continue in their quest to find the beautiful girl he held in his arms not ten minutes ago. He couldn't say anything. There was nothing he could say except to hope that Katara crushes whatever insignificant chance they think they have at someone like her.

"Wow Kuzon, you are really good at dancing!"

Her voice stuck out to him, enough to bring him out of the downward spiral of his thoughts and feelings, and he blinked his eyes open again to see On-ji smiling back at him, her eyes twinkling with the candlelight around them though he saw a light rosy tint gracing her beaming cheeks. ' _It's probably just the light_ '

"Oh hey On-ji," He allowed his sour feelings from the two boys to slip away as he grinned back at her, though he still stayed vigilant to any sudden movements or the familiar slap of water that would give him all the reason he needed to validate what he originally planned for his daring classmates. Katara was more than capable of taking care of herself, he knew that well and would gladly let her have all the time she needed engraining that into their minds, but there was no way they'd escape without a warning courtesy of the avatar.

Bringing his attention to the girl in front of him, the motion of her hand sweeping her bangs to the side catching his eye and bringing him back to reality, her words came to the forefront of his mind again. "Thanks! I just hope you had fun here tonight—" He motioned around him, breathing a silent breath of relief realizing the students who were crowded around him had given him some more moving room and were now talking more amongst themselves than paying him attention "—the whole point of this dance party was to give everyone a fun break away from school and all the strict rules you homeland kids have to follow"

She looked at him appreciative for a moment, "Well, it worked. It was a blast and I don't think anyone will forget it for a while," but then her smile widened, and a girly giggle escaped her lips as she put a hand over her mouth to make it not so obvious, "but you make it sound like we don't know how to have _any_ fun around here."

He raised an eyebrow at her giggle, but then his eyes went wide and his hands instinctively went up in front of him as he quickly stuttered out a, "N-no, that's not what I meant!"

His defensive reaction only made her laugh and she grabbed his hands into her own, pulling them down as she took a step closer to him. The action surprised him, keeping his eyes wide, but he quickly slipped his hands away when it was clear she wasn't going to first. She looked disappointed at first but managed to retain her former smile. "It's okay, Kuzon! It sounds like the colonies are a lot more relaxed than here and there's nothing wrong with that. I was just going to say that… well…" She trailed off nervously and this perked his curiosity as he unintentionally leaned in closer, her words dying off and he was already finding his attention being pulled elsewhere at the sound of a familiar voice.

"What is it On-ji?" He prompted her in hopes that she would say whatever was sitting on her tongue just a bit faster. He didn't want to be rude, but a quick glance to his right confirmed his suspicion that a few undeserving boys had found his water bending master and he most definitely did not like the way they were so close to her, their eyes loosely holding to her face as she spoke, but taunting him with a glance away now and then. He faintly registered the fire nation girl shift in front of him as she alternated uncomfortably between her feet, her fingers absentmindedly twiddling.

"I…uh… was wondering with that dance you showed us… well… you probably have better things to do… so if not it's okay…but maybe if you want to…"

The rest of her words fell onto his deaf ears once he caught sight of Katara and one of the young men moving back towards the clearing where he had just danced with her, the boy with a prideful look on his face that Aang all too quickly wanted to wipe off as they centered themselves and the band began another upbeat tempo. His body had since cooled off from their heated routine, but the sight of someone else in his spot now only made the warmth return and his hands ball into tight fists, a few pleasant images running through his mind of where he wanted them to be, but a quiet voice brought his gaze forward as he only caught the last bit of her long winded question.

"—so I guess what I'm trying to ask is… would you want to Kuzon?"

He should've asked her to repeat the full question again before speaking, it would've been the sensible thing to do instead of blindly agreeing to whatever it was she uttered, but knowing that someone besides himself had his arms around the small of Katara's waist and the dangerous prospect of where those hands were currently resting was enough to thoroughly through sensibility to the wind and say whatever it took to—politely—get him out of this conversation and over to the dance floor. Trying to keep the glower off his face and voice as he looked at her, he forced a smile. "Uh, sure On-ji. That sounds great—" Had he been paying attention, he would've seen her eyes light up like a freshly lit candle and a grin break across her face with a fierceness that could rival his own, but alas he was already turning in the direction of the water tribe girl and only paused long enough to excuse himself "—I'm sorry, but I _really_ have to go check on something real quick. It was nice talking to you!"

It was hard to say it without it going through gritted teeth by the end, but somehow he managed and without losing any more time, he was quickly squeezing between kids, faintly hearing her call after him about something though the words were inaudible. He almost wished the trepidation that held the students back had returned in that moment because it seemed nearly everyone had forgotten about it and were leaving very little moving room for him to slip by as they stomped their feet and moved their bodies to the predictable beats of the drums and the plucks of the pipas. It came as more than a mild annoyance when he lost sight of the bronze skinned girl he had been watching and was forced to duck under a few arms here and there before catching a familiar sight in front of him.

Meanwhile, Katara was not entirely enjoying herself either. After finishing their bows and witnessing Aang be drowned into a group of red uniforms, she took that as her opportunity to cool off and put more distance between them by heading over to get a drink of water from their makeshift refreshment area. Her head was spinning and she could hardly blame it on all the twists and flips they did during their routine, the way that half-lidded look from him managed to ease her nerves as they encircled one another, the confidence he held in every move he made and every touch that came from the brief contact with him, and that moment they nearly...

With a new found urgency for something to soothe her dry mouth, she grasped the first liquid in view and messily filled up a cup with it, bringing it to her lips as she forcefully closed her eyes. The cool sensation of it helped to ebb the heat that seemed to consume her, but it only lasted momentarily to ease the thoughts that begged for her attention. ' _It was just a dance_ —no, _just our normal warm up routine is all, don't make it into anything else_ '

That's right, it wasn't even a dance, she reminded herself stubbornly as the echo of Aang's whisper resonated in her mind. And it was true, that's what he told her to do and then for anything new to simply mimic him, but... She took another big gulp of the drink in her hand, feeling the heat on her cheeks begin to burn a bit more when she remembered the way their motions quickly deviated from their normal ones and the way she was able to respond to him so easily, like they had done all of that stuff a million times over and neither one would skip a beat. Another scene glared her down as she tried to brush it off as quickly as it came, when he gave her that subtle nod and leaned in, and she leaned in too without a second thought, wordlessly understanding what he wanted her to do yet not even questioning it until their faces were but inches from one another where it would've been so easy to just... Air. Maybe air was what she needed right now, not the drink that was so persistent in evading her mouth that she ended up brushing a trail of it off the corner of her mouth with slight annoyance, setting the cup back onto the hard surface with a bit more force than she would've normally used.

' _It's not like we were going to kiss or anything... It's not like I_ wanted _to kiss him_ ' Though that was what she truly wanted to believe, the mention of it still made her pause with her hand still gripped around the cup, eyes widened at the sudden realization that they actually had come so close to kissing each other and that while she would deny that nothing had crossed her mind in that moment except how perfectly they had timed it (the reason she smiled and she figured he did as well), she's wasn't sure if she would've stopped there had no one else been around. With a shake of her head, finally releasing her vice grip and pulling both of her hands up to knock some sense back into her brain, she dismissed the thought. ' _He's your friend Katara! Why are you thinking about kissing him? Maybe it was a good moment... and yeah he was so close his nose almost touched mine... and I mean who could resist that freaking adorable grin, I—'_ She couldn't do this, this was forbidden territory and a rabbit hole she'd only let herself go down once before when he kissed her in the cave of two lovers and the real prospect that maybe, just maybe she hadn't gotten the taste of his lips off hers since that one, and almost got another round of it too if no one else had been there, was too dangerous a path to follow.

At that thought, she visibly started. Clenching her jaw in an effort to steel away the truth that maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if he had come a bit closer, she turned on her heel and made way for somewhere, anywhere where she could get fresh air and clear the thoughts that were beginning to play tricks with her heart as its rhythm fluctuated nearly as face as the tempo of the music did. Taking a quick glance around to find the easiest way out of there, her eyes found a particularly familiar patch of rough hair on top of a headband and the few strides she had made in the direction of the cave entrance were immediately halted at the sight of him talking with another girl.

She had to bite her lip seeing the way he smiled at his fire nation friend and ignore the way it made her chest feel tighter, the same constriction she had come to hate whenever they first visited Kyoshi Island and the younger girls couldn't get enough of her best friend, or all the glances and stares she'd seen raking him over whenever they walked around the rings of Ba Sing Se.

'... _I really need to get some air..._ ' She refused to even consider the idea that maybe it was because she was... nope. That word wasn't even allowed into her thoughts, she decided, and mustered the strength, surprised just how much it took, to tear her eyes away from that scene and fixate them back to the dark of the night. Her chest was tight because she needed to get a few unadulterated breathes in, that's all. It had nothing to do with Aang and his little friend.

"Well, well, well, looks like we found the real showstopper of the night"

Not so surprisingly her second attempt at a quiet refuge was squandered before she could even take a few more steps, the rather sultry statement nearly assaulting her ears and she had to consciously turn her head to see who it's owner was in fear that she would quite literally snap her neck with the force in which she looked at him. She didn't recognize his voice and certainly not his face once she caught sight of him, but the tone in which he addressed her and the look that he gave her was enough for her to grimace in response.

His gaze was eerily similar to Aang's, half-lidded and with a twinkle of something a bit hotter than the reflection of the hazy warm glow from the candlelight, but unlike the way the air bender's eyes made her feel calm and secure, having the ability to make her lose track of everything around them if she simply allowed herself to get lost in their metallic depths, this unknown boy's brown eyes only made her shoulders tense and left her stomach a bit worse for the wear. She did not like the look in them at all.

He took an unwelcomed step closer to her, somehow taking her silence as an excuse to continue, seeming to be unfazed by the effect his words had on her—probably thinking they had the opposite effect than they actually were having—and Katara instinctively took a step back. He positioned himself directly in front of her, blocking her original path out, and stood taller than most of the other students there leaving her to believe he was one of the upperclassmen of the school as only a few of them showed up. Either way, his height nearly matched hers and it did nothing to help her avoid his intense gaze as he began speaking to her once more.

"My name's Hau and this is my friend Osamu—" She followed his motion over to another boy who seemed a bit more hesitant in approaching her, the other boy being of similar height and fashion, a shy wave being the only type of confirmation she got from him before the first boy continued, "—we saw you dancing earlier with our friend Kuzon and we wanted to say that you are a really great dancer!"

The compliment was sweet, and had it been any other time, maybe in another universe or somewhere far away she would've accepted it without hesitation and possibly even blushed that the memory of her and Aang dancing was brought to the forefront of her thoughts once more with a rush, but something about his earlier tone—one that he wisely dropped when continuing with his introductions—and the weird look he was still giving her made her a bit leery of his words.

' _I really need to lighten up, they're just paying me a little attention_ ' The thought brought a sigh to her lips, but she exhaled it through her nose in a forced breath. Maybe, if anything, this distraction could help her unnerving thoughts about her arrow headed friend stay at bay.

With that hope in mind, she finally cracked a somewhat genuine, though mostly forced, smile at Hau and replied with as much sincerity as she could muster in the moment, "Oh, uh, thank you," and seeing their gaze so expectant towards her, she cleared her throat self-consciously, tagging on, "I don't know if I would consider myself a _great_ dancer per say, I mean Aan—Kuzon is very easy to follow so naturally I...um..."

She found herself trailing off at the near slip up of mentioning Aang as nearly saying his name made her take a subconscious glance to where he had been the last time she spotted him, and whatever her next words were, they effectively died in her throat at the sight of a smiling girl leaning in closely to him with... Katara squinted her eyes just slightly as her gaze landed on their clasped hands. As quickly as she took notice of them, she focused back on Hau and his friend, desperately trying to ignore the way that seeing their hands intertwined made her stomach churn uncomfortably, and seeing how intent they were in each other made her breathless all of a sudden. Only vaguely did she register that Hau's mouth was still moving, no doubt forming words that were likely being directed towards her though her ears had all too graciously tuned them out completely in hot demand for the loud thump of her heart.

' _Relax, they're just holding hands_ — _HANDS KATARA_ — _quit making this a bigger deal than it is!_ ' The part of her brain that was still functioning reasonably knew this was true, and _she_ knew this was true, but it didn't stop her brows from knitting together with the frustration she suddenly found herself feeling at the thought that he seemed to be doing much better than she was at the moment. ' _He's not even looking this way... I thought_ — _after we danced_ — _that look that he gave me... he was going to say something, right?... maybe he didn't feel that_ —' She cut her thought off before finishing it, once again trailing into territory that she had no business thinking in, and was almost thankful for the two boys in front of her as a means of distraction. Forcefully reeling herself back to reality with a few blinks, it was then that she fully noticed Hau had closed the distance almost entirely between the two of them, placing one hand behind her on the table while his eyes held that same gleam in them but newly gave her a look as though he were waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She asked him with a bit of apology though it mostly fell flat, trying to side-step his position on her in an effort to create more distance between them again. Forgetting her previous thoughts momentarily, she narrowed her eyes when the boy inched back towards her, his eyebrows lifting innocently, and instantly regretted asking him to repeat himself once she heard the question fly out of his mouth...

"I was just asking if you would like to dance with me?"

She drew in a quick breath, closing her eyes for a second to gauge how she felt before focusing on the firebender. ' _Honestly, no. I'm tired, I'm hot and sweaty, and the last place I want to be right now is in this stupid cave._ ' That's what she wanted to say, and nearly said it in those same words too when she opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes once again found themselves upon a certain bender and the pretty girl talking to him, the sight once again making her feel more uncomfortable than she'd like to admit and so the words flowed out of her mouth with her exhaled breath. "Okay, let's go."

The surprised look only lasted a moment on his face before a wide smile broke out across it and he wasted no time in taking her hand to lead them to the least crowded area on the dance floor, which happened to be right in the middle where her and Aang had been, and Katara offered him a friendly smile in return seeing the excitement the simple acceptance brought to him; the fingers that tiptoed their way to the middle of her exposed back, however, were a bit harder to ignore.


	2. Cutting In

"Hey Toph, have you seen Katara around?" Aang barely glanced at the earth bender as the question came out rushed and vexed, and continued his search from the table she sat at. When did they invite _so_ many kids? In his attempts to wheedle his gaze through arms, heads, and nearly every other body part that was being flung around by the kids who had yet to tame their newly found dance moves into more graceful ones, he missed the eyeroll that greeted him back though she made no motion to move her head as she stared forward towards the commotion.

"Well, great to see you too Twinkle-Toes!"

He did catch her sarcastic tone though and shot her a look even though he knew she couldn't see it. Her lips were curled up in a smirk, not that he needed to see it to know it was there or that, like always, it only signaled that either she found something she was going to milk for amusement or was purposefully trying to get under his skin. While her sarcasm could lean either way, he knew she was probably just bored in the latter option, the single foot she held to the ground confirming his own suspicion considering he was surprised she had even lasted this long with the amount of stomping going on. He mentally noted to give her some space after this whole thing was over, already anticipating the killer headache she'll get by the end of it and having no intention of getting on her bad side when it hits her.

A few cheers and whistles from somewhere in the midst of the kids snapped him out of his thoughts though and reminded him that there was still a brunette lost to his sights in the midst of the rambunctious crowd. He briefly glanced that way, not surprised that he couldn't see anything, before turning his stare back to Toph in some hope that she would get the message that he was in no mood to entertain her as he kept his peripheral focused on the movement in the center of the cave just in case, and found himself a bit more peeved that she had yet to respond to his initial, and what he thought sounded like an urgent enough, question.

Normally he wouldn't have let it get to him quite this much, the girl's words and attitude easily bouncing off of him most days as he knew it was just her way of expressing herself and never meant any harm by it, but that was not the case in this moment when her seismic sense would be a lot better at detecting Katara's footsteps than his and he really just wanted to get to the point. "I'm really not in the mood to do this Toph so have you seen her or not?"

"Well, considering I haven't _seen_ her since I met you clowns, I'm assuming you want to know where she is in that swarm of stomping fire nation feet"

He nodded to confirm it and ignored the sarcasm that dripped from her words, though a moment of silence from the blind girl reminded him that he had to speak up and not rely on nonverbal cues. As he made way to confirm her words, another sight caught his eye and he turned to finally catch a glimpse of silky red moving gracefully under a blanket of chocolatey brown waves and nearly forgot the whole reason he was looking for her in the first place, a wide smile stretching across his face as he quickly shouted over the music that got a bit louder as the song progressed, "Never mind, I think I found her!"

Without waiting for a reply, the words were barely out of his mouth before he was making a straight path to where she was, mumbling out a few strangled apologies as he fumbled his way through the dancing students and eventually where he wanted to be, the reason of his adventure coming back all too fast when his gaze darted from the mesmerizing blue eyes he loved to the tuft of shaggy brown hair that quickly eclipsed her face for a moment as they spun around. Just as fast as he met her eye did the familiar face of the boy come into view and the two paused upon seeing the air bender, Aang not so fondly noticing that though they separated, there was a hand still lingering out of his view.

"Oh, Kuzon," Hau's eyebrows rose slightly at the sight of his 'friend' and Aang tried to keep his own expression neutral knowing his surprise wasn't genuine, more than likely covering up some annoyance at the interruption than anything else, "I thought you were talking to On-ji"

The avatar shifted casually, giving a nonchalant shrug while chancing a glance over to Katara, musing to himself, ' _I was trying to before you mentioned roasting hot flakes with my best frie_ — _why is she looking at me like that?_ ' Though the eye contact was brief, there was a weird millisecond where she looked... nervous? The odd flash made him a bit curious but it was gone before he could really decipher what it was and his focus switched back over to the boy who still held a possessive hand around the water bender's waist.

"I was, but I'm done now," He responded curtly and gave Hau a pointed look that said ' _So hands off buddy_ '. The boy seemed to get the message loud and clear, his eyes narrowed noticeably with a slow tip of his chin, showing a distaste in the current situation but evidently showed no effort in moving any further away from the two and silently returned the intense gaze.

"Um..Kuzon, did you need something?"

He didn't so much as blink when he heard Katara's voice, too intent on the challenge between him and Hau as they slowly began leaning closer to each other, wordlessly echoing threats to the other as both refused to back away before what she said made it through Aang's brain and he, still not breaking eye contact with the fire nation student, couldn't help his own eyes widening and feel the heat come to his cheeks. ' _I need you_ ' was the first thought to his mind, wisely keeping it between sealed lips, but just as before, he suddenly found himself unsure of what to say. "I...uh..." ' _Say something!_ '

Instinctively, feeling a bit embarrassed now for making a big deal of his entrance only to be stammering for an answer to her simple and quite pertinent question, his hand shot up to the back of his head to find it's habitual spot for 'awkward situation' rubbing and unintentionally glanced to the ground as the wheels turned in his head, silently cursing that force of habit not seconds later when he looked back up to find a smug smirk on Hau's face as the older boy leaned back, finding too much satisfaction in his 'win'. Aang rolled his eyes and straightened back up as well only to tense up once Hau spoke.

"You know Kuzon, you look a bit flushed.. maybe you should sit down for a while, you guys _did_ just deliver a pretty intense number not that long ago," He spoke too nicely for the air bender to stomach the sugary tone it held, the emphasis not going unnoticed as Aang lifted an eyebrow at it but could see the firebender wasn't quite through yet, his smirk only widening further, "and not everyone has the _stamina_ to keep up sometimes"

He knew he probably looked a bit stupid once his jaw dropped and he stared incredulously at the other boy for a solid few seconds, but no one saw the swell of avatar fury building inside of him at the insinuation within those words; that he couldn't keep up with Katara, that he wasn't up to par with her, and that this excuse of a fire academy student thought he was better able to take his spot... whatever that _spot_ was. ' _I'll show you that I have the_ stamina _and everything else it takes to be with Katara'_ "I'm fine actually" His jaw clenched tightly and the words slipped out of gritted teeth, giving the boy a once over to say he wasn't going anywhere...

"He's right, you really do look a bit red Aa—K-Kuzon. Are you okay?" His eyes latched onto her blue ones in a fraction of a second, all the anger suddenly on hold as a warm hand came in contact with his forehead, most of it being blocked by his now slightly damp with sweat headband though her thumb and pinky grazed his bare skin off the edges, and he watched her face switch from concern to unreadable again in an instant, just as quickly reeling her hand back as if his skin were actually on fire, and the sudden loss of her contact made him release a breath he didn't realize caught in his throat. Meeting his gaze briefly, she turned her head to the side and simply concluded with, "You feel warm, you should go sit down and give yourself a chance to cool off"

 _'No way'_ "What? Katara, I'm f—"

"I mean it, Kuzon"

His chest went tight and he almost couldn't breath. Once again, he probably looked stupid, mouth gaping open in disbelief as her words carried an unmistakable bite to them and she kept her gaze away from him, leaving him only to stare at her profile with an expression he knew conveyed the hurt he felt. He wanted to argue, but the words didn't come and not until she shifted uneasily did he realize he was just staring in silence as the song shifted over to something new and the lull in between created a dead air around them. ' _I thought we had a moment back there... there's no way I misread that!_ ' A moment. _Moments_.

The word made his jaw clench in resolution, his fists clenched once more at his sides, and it brought his brows lower reminding him that that's all they ever had and it seemed all they would ever have were _just moments_. The reminder of it didn't help the pain he felt, the obvious feeling of the other boy's self-satisfied gaze on him making him steel the feelings over that much faster, and without another glance to him or anywhere else, he turned and stalked back into the mess of dancing kids that no longer got polite apologies as he not so gracefully maneuvered around them, the temptation to air bend himself over their heads nearly being enacted after a hand threatened to imprint itself on his arm after a solid whack.

"I thought you said you found her, why are you back here?"

No sooner had he plopped himself down on the seat across from Toph did her voice carry over to him, but he made no effort in responding. The music had begun again but at a much slower tempo than the last, the annoyance surging through him as to who thought that was a good idea upon having a rather unobstructed view of the girl he loved dancing with someone other than him, a view that only made his stomach churn more watching the way they moved with one another and the way he had his arms snaked around her middle. It made the air bender nauseous, and the amused purr from the girl across the table from him only made him feel worse about it without any sympathy in her voice when he remained silent.

"I'm guessing you found more than you wanted to?"

Silence once more, the smirk too evident in her voice for him to even need to look at her much less respond. His gaze remained planted on Katara and Hau even though he wanted to look away and find anything else to distract him, but the all too unsettling echo of what Hau said to him removed what little strength he had to do so.

"I'll take that as a yes..." He tried to take a few deep breaths to relax himself, but on top of watching the scene before him, Toph's fingers stubbornly dribbling on the table top did little to help "...you know, for someone who had no idea how to dance just a few hours ago, he's really not doing too bad out there. Compared to some of these others kids, him and Katara move pretty well with each other without second guessing their moves a whole lot, almost like—"

' _Like Katara and I did?_ ' He snapped his gaze over to look at Toph finally, eyebrows knitted together with almost a glare supported beneath them as he swiftly cut her off by remarking, "Oh really? Because from where I can see, he's practically tripping over his own feet trying to keep pace with the music..." It came out so calm that it nearly startled him though he could've slapped a hand to his arrow hearing how insecure it sounded once it flew out of his mouth, halfway expecting a snide comment from the earth bender about it as he eased up his stare towards her, but was surprised to see her simply lift her eyebrows.

"Actually, I was _going_ to say that it's like he's done this before; you know, before this whole ridiculous plan you came up with?" He lowered his gaze at the annoyance in her voice and decidedly turned it back out in front of him, not particularly keen on the action when he caught sight of Katara once more, but figured it better knowing that Toph was probably giving him one of her 'Something's up and you're going to tell me what' looks as was evident in her tone, "It's your own stupid party, why aren't you out there enjoying yourself and teaching these kids something more than flinging their bodies around like psychos?"

He noticed the classmates she was referring to, their exaggerated moves making him inwardly cringe, but he kept his face set and flatly replied without looking at her, "I'm taking a break"

She snorted. "A break? Is that what this is?" ' _No, it's me wondering why I'm so stupid to think we may have had more..._ '

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" ' _Everything you idiot!_ '

"Everything is. You don't get tired that easily, Twinkle-Toes, and judging by your heart rate right now, I can tell you're lying to me."

 _'See? Even Toph can—'_ His eyes widened if only for a split second as Toph's words were digested in his mind, and he let out a forced breath through his nose before closing them. '— _why do I keep forgetting she can do that.._ ' "I don't want to talk about it"

"Huh, what a _shocker_ coming from the fancy dancer...you know, those moves may work around these fire monsters, but you're not fooling me"

' _No, I'm only fooling myself.._ ' The wry thought made his heart feel constricted, screwing his eyes even tighter closed in some effort to let the blackness that was all he could see engulf him completely so he'd finally be done with this night already, though the sinking feeling in his stomach reminded him that this was far from over and he just replied by dryly stating, "Whatever you say, Toph."

Oddly enough, he was only met with silence—not that he was complaining—and it drew out for a few long minutes before he settled his gaze back out to the group of dancing kids, the faint wonder of what it would be like to bend simply by will of your eyes entertaining his thoughts as the idea sounded pretty good when he stared at the back of Hau's head as he twirled Katara, though the sudden fumbling of feet from the boy sent him nearly crashing to the ground and the sight brought a faint smile to Aang's lips. Maybe he wasn't the only one making a fool of himself. The reprieve was short-lived, but it did relieve some of the tension in his chest knowing that at least he was still the better dancer.

"I'm just saying, my original nickname for you kinda fits now," Letting a breath out and lowering his brows further, he watched Toph cross her arms over her chest suddenly, her tone suspiciously airy as she took a pregnant pause before explaining further, "I mean it, you're a really good dancer and as much as I hate to admit it, it looks like you're plan is working"

' _I thought she liked the idea?_ ' With a quirked eyebrow at her, he took her compliment, though a touch insulting, in stride, "Thanks Toph," before using the faint lift in his mood to tag on something positive about the evening that she brought up, "And yeah, it does doesn't it?" but even that didn't come out as convincing as he hoped so he quickly continued, answering his own rhetorical question with "..yeah, it's going great actually; seeing everyone smiling and having a great time, it's even more than I was hoping for tonight!"

"Mmhmm"

There was that piquing purr from the earth bender again that sent his hairs on edge only a moment after he finished speaking and he let a small groan. ' _I seriously can't catch a break tonight, can I?_ ' Only inwardly did he roll his eyes at the thought as outwardly he just casted her a leery sideways glance. "What now?"

Yet, even now he could still hear some amusement in her voice as she asked, "Are you sure that's _all_ you wanted tonight?"

 _'Considering no one asked me if I wanted to be the avatar, and no one asked me if I wanted to fall in love with a girl who clearly doesn't feel the same way; I'd say it doesn't really matter what I want, does it?'_ Thinking it wiser to keep that thought to himself rather than rival Toph's ruthless sarcasm with his own, he decided to feign some ignorance to her blatant question, the sight of a flurry in red with bronzed skin reminding him how much he didn't feel like approaching that topic right now, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're an open book" Her flat response nearly felt like a slap to his face and he was getting tired of this, the whole conversation once again causing an all too familiar weight on his chest that made his heart feel like it was thumping even harder than it really was, and he was beginning to feel his insecurity creep back into the shadows of his mind.

"Toph..." His voice was low, almost a whisper, and it was all he could get out as a last ditch warning to her that he wasn't in the mood, it's dark tone being more than even he was expecting but went with it in hopes she would get the message and back off already.

But of course, he already knew she wasn't one to drop something simply for the sake of the other person and she pressed on without so much as an ounce of sympathy in her words, "Don't play dumb with me, I'm not nice to play with and I _will_ spell it out for you if you keep this up, Twinkle-Toes. So, I'll ask you this again; Why exactly are you over here with _me_ and not with _Katara_?"

And that aggravated him as his retort came out a bit louder than the last, "It's not like I don't want to be with her!" knitting his eyebrows together, he reeled himself back slightly and felt his frustrations finally begin creeping up his throat as he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh, saying with a bit more defeat, "You know what I mean"

"Apparently I don't. It blows my mind that you two are still doing this back and forth thing; heck, I feel bad for Sokka that he's had to deal with you two far longer than I have because your guys' tip-toeing around each other is already getting under my skin!"

Her scoff made him grimace before he even heard what she had to say, but when she said it, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Another thing he knew about the earth bender was that she wasn't a fan of getting involved in these kinds of things, simply saying that 'everyone has their own mess to deal with', but hearing the bite in her tone and the fist she banged on the table, it only added to his now quickly spiraling mood. ' _Why does she care so much?_ ' "Toph, it's complicated, okay? She just..."

"She just what? Suddenly grew a pair?"

Eyes wide, her raised voice startled him making him shrunk back slightly at the few looks cast their way from some kids mingling nearby, but the shock wore off quickly and his jaw clenched, snapping to the girl with a steely look. "Toph!"

She rolled her glazed eyes as if everything about their conversation were plucking at her last nerve, quite frankly that's the way he was feeling at the moment and was all too aware of the feelings she was pulling to the surface, and that's what finally slipped out of his mouth when she nearly growled at him, "Then _what_?"

His eyes narrowed at her as his breaths came out hot, the pain that had been creeping back up into his chest finally securing a hold on his heart as it bounded with an erratic thump before he not so quietly confessed, "To her I'll never be anything more than what I am now!"

No sooner had he turned away from her did he became aware of the many looks he got from nearby kids at his sudden outburst, and his eyes went wide before dropping back to his seat again, avoiding the gazes directed to him as he hung his head down. He didn't miss the slightly surprised look on Toph's face either, but he took a deep breath and after a moment, he continued speaking, taking a quick glance around to make sure everyone had gone back to their own business before saying, "I'm just her best friend, and I know her well enough to see that when there's something she wants, she doesn't let it out of her sights until she has it. We've been together for a while now, but I feel like whenever we get close, she pushes me away...She just doesn't see me in that way

"To her, I'm the cute kid of the group and she'll never see me as anything else" It almost made him cringe how pitiful his words came out, but there was no stopping the flood that the earth bender unleashed. ' _It's not like it's a secret how Katara sees me...she told me I was cute like Momo before so why would they think any differently?_ '

Even though the music was still loud and filling most of the air around them, he could hear the faint sigh she let out as she asked, "Why do you think you're not what she wants?"

Aang flew his hands up briefly at the question and gave her a disbelieving look. "Have you not been listening, Toph? I just told you!"

"No, all I heard was blah blah blah woe is me talk, and frankly, I'm not in the mood for that," He had to hold back the scowl that threatened an appearance watching the way she mimicked his mouth with her hand, and she continued with her own, "Do you even _hear_ yourself? You're bowing out before you even give yourself a chance, you need to wake up dummy! That evasive philosophy you live by isn't going to get you anywhere right now, you need to start fighting"

He forced a breath out of his nose and shook his head. "And how am I supposed to do that? Ever since she freed me from the iceberg I've _been_ fighting and you know where that's gotten me? Nowhere!" He jerked his hand towards the dance floor, meaning to prove his point by the pair still dancing out there, but quickly remembered it didn't matter and dropped it back to his lap, the action not stopping the growl behind his words, "I told you, she goes after what she wants and it isn't me!"

At this point the pain he felt surfaced violently and seeing her open her mouth to ask him what he knew was already coming, he cut her off before she could voice it, his own voice nearly in hysterics now as the memory of a certain freedom fighter squeezed his heart, "You know why I know that? Because she kissed a guy she'd only known for a few days before she was willing to kiss me in a cave to _survive_!"

Silence. He only vaguely registered that he was no longer on the stony stump, but up on his feet with his hands thrown to the air, facing the blind girl head on with eyes narrowed and jaw clenched so tightly it nearly hurt. The pain was nothing compared to what swirled inside his chest, admitting aloud a truth that he had been holding deep inside of him since the day he witnessed it happen, the accidental spying he had done on Jet and Katara one night after they'd been gone for awhile and the brief, but very real kiss they shared despite having only been in the camp for a matter of days. He screwed his eyes shut, willing the burning memory of that moment to find someone else to harass because he didn't want to do this anymore. ' _She kissed him before she even knew him... what makes you think she likes me after that?_ '

If his chest didn't feel heavy enough, that last thought sent him almost gasping for air. It was something he constantly pushed to the back of his mind, but could never fully get rid, and he wanted to deny it with his whole heart, his whole being, but he couldn't. They'd been together for nearly a year... she already proved that when it comes to someone she likes, she doesn't need that much time to make it known.

"That's... rough"

Toph's voice didn't entirely pull him from his self-deprecating mindset, but the sympathy and the unexpected softness it held did enough to elicit a sigh from him, reminding him there was a welcoming seat behind his suddenly weak feeling knees, and he positioned himself across from the girl again. ' _You're telling me..._ ' He wanted to be sad, but something about the atmosphere around him kept those feelings away in place of annoyance, and his lips were drawn into a thin but taut line as he stubbornly kept his gaze fixed to the dirty cave floor, some of the lingering dust looking more interesting the longer he stared at it.

That was until the ground shifted underneath him. Without warning, he was roughly shoved up from his seat and sent forward with a lurch, stumbling a few steps before regaining his balance from the sudden action, and without hesitation he whipped around to face the earth bender once more, caught between controlling his anger at the uncalled for move and the disbelief at why she did it. ' _What the... what's wrong with her? I spill my guts and she nearly launches me into the air!_ ' His first reaction should've made him glance around to see that no one saw what had just happened, their cover having been consequently long lost to his mind as the night proceeded, but instead his gaze was fixed on the perpetrator as the question flew out of his mouth with hot indignation, "What was that for?!"

She rolled her glossy eyes and huffed with an exasperation that made Aang's eye twitch. "I swear, sometimes even _I_ see better than you people. Listen, I'm not going to pretend I know what goes on in that girl's mind all the time because heck, she knows how to keep her emotions off her sleeve unlike you, but I've caught enough to know that she doesn't see you that way you think she does!"

He wanted to believe her, and a part of him did, but the disbelieving side still held control of his mouth and he quietly replied, "You don't have to say that to make me feel better, you know"

"I'm not. As much as it annoys me when any of you go into these moping moods, I wouldn't lie about something like that just to make you feel better," Her expression softened somewhat as she spoke and she got up, taking a few small steps towards him and he winced at the playful, but still hard punch she gave him in the shoulder, "From the pulses I felt when you two were dancing, there's something there, and it wasn't her admiring how great of a dancer you are"

The sight of her smirk returning sent a weird sense of relief over him, and what she said was enough to make his chest feel warm and tingly wondering if maybe she had seen what he _felt_ when Katara and him danced, giving him some hope that maybe he hadn't been crazy to think something really was there, but alas he couldn't help the temptation. Hearing the change in music as it sped up again, he raked his gaze back over the group that was still enjoying it to find that the familiar flashes of red silk were gone and after a few moments of looking through all the bodies, he felt his stomach sink a little when he realized she wasn't even there anymore, and like a flood his annoyance quickly returned on top of the frustration that he couldn't find Hau either, the feelings pouring out of him in an exasperated sigh. ' _Great. I don't even know where they went now and here I was thinking that Toph could be right.._ '

"It doesn't matter," He harshly stated, reeling his gaze back to briefly see the surprised look on the earth bender's face, not even trying to withhold the emotions that burned inside of him once more as he said, "I already told you, she goes after what she wants so please, just drop it"

The look on her face once the initial surprise wore off was that of disbelief, and she crossed her arms, retorting without the slightest hesitation, "So, what? You're going to let her go because some guy had the guts to act instead of sitting around waiting for someone to give him some stupid pep talk?"

He was done. His jaw clenched and his brow furrowed as the words slipped out of his gritted teeth, "If she wants to waste her time, then who am I to stop her?" and without waiting for a reply, he turned and left the blind girl in pursuit of the cave entrance, quietly adding to himself before he was out of ear shot of her, "I won't," and decidedly ignored the light footsteps that trailed behind him.


	3. Kiss Me

"I'm sorry about running off on you like that On Ji" Aang rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced to the girl beside him, not too enthusiastic about entering the warm cave again as the distinct smell of sweat and smoke, and the familiar rumbling in the ground invaded his senses. He sucked it up because he had to do this, the very thing he unknowingly agreed to doing some far time ago; or at least it felt far with everything that had happened.

"That's okay Kuzon," On Ji smiled at him sweetly, either not being fazed by his actions or doing a very good job in hiding it, he couldn't tell after she finally caught up to him just outside the cave entrance. It took some intentionality on his part to force all of his previous thoughts about a blue eyed beauty away before he agreed to come back in, but seeing how happy she was made him feel a little bad that his own mood wasn't as light as hers. Her smile widened as she continued, looking at him earnestly, "You know, I was just happy you agreed to it"

He glanced at her as they made their way to a clear spot on the dance floor, her smile contagious enough to make one spread across his lips as well, and the fleeting thought, ' _She has a really pretty smile_ ' came and went without so much as a flutter of the heart. The thought was sincere, but it didn't go unnoticed the way this simple observation did nothing to him. In a way, he hoped it would so it would prove to him that another girl could affect him the way a certain water bender could, but the realization that he wasn't surprised by it only left him feeling a little hallow as they found a good spot towards the middle of the cave floor.

With a new found resolve, he steeled those feelings away. ' _Just try to focus on her. You agreed to this_ '

With that thought, and turning to face her now that they found some room, he asked her where to start and before long they were swaying to the music. He was impressed to say the least. Even if the fire nation was suppressive to this form of self-expression, she had a natural rhythm with her motions and even managed to lift his spirits the way each hesitant or fumble of her step made her laugh instead of getting embarrassed, something that only made it easier to slowly forget the thoughts that clouded his mind not an hour ago. For the first time since his dance with Katara, he gave On Ji a genuine smile after moving beside her.

He noticed the way she mixed up two movements and quickly stepped closer to her, the action being familiar as a means to correct one's bending stance rather than a dance, but he was painfully oblivious to the way the close contact caused the girl to blush and simply continued in his efforts. "That was great, but here; it's like this"

Taking her hand into his, he guided her into the movements and his smile widened when she did it correctly. "There! You're getting it," He exclaimed, his smile widening at the joy that overtook her face, and without a second thought, her hand still within reach of his, he grabbed it and spun her around, gaining a surprised squeal from the girl.

He laughed and said, "Remember, it's about expressing yourself. Don't be afraid to mix it up a bit!"

She nodded and he caught the faint tinge of red on her cheeks again, but made no mention of it and kept moving along with her. His chest felt much lighter now thanks to her, but as much fun as he found himself having, it still didn't scatter the nipping feeling that he didn't know where Katara and Hau had ended up. Half of him wanted to go find them even if the other half didn't want to see what he may find. Despite what he said to Toph, he could feel his resolve weakening. He hadn't meant everything, he knew seeing the two of them together made him jealous and some of what he said flew out in response to that hot pain, but he wasn't sure how to navigate it after storming out of the cave.

Through the thoughts swirling in his mind, he was still very aware of the girl dancing with him, but somehow he missed the footsteps behind him until a tap on his shoulder nearly made him start as he whirled around to see who it belonged to, his eyes widening as he met her crystal blue ones. "Katara?"

"Hey, there's something I need to talk to you about" She said, shifting a bit uneasily as she met his gaze, and she afforded On Ji a sideways glance as she asked, "Do you mind?"

The shorter girl looked hesitant and the pregnant lull was enough for Aang to interject, surprised she was approaching him this time, but still very aware of the affect her presence had on him whenever he'd been near her, and a little piqued he couldn't do anything about it. "I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait until later"

"Actually, it can't wait," Her brows knitted together in frustration at the brush off, but she wasn't going to let it go so easily as she grabbed hold of his wrist and turned to the younger girl, "I'm sorry, but he'll be right back"

' _Maybe in another lifetime_ ' She thought as she pulled him through the throng of students, hearing him call out to her above the noise with hot demands of what she was doing and where they were going, but she didn't give him any answer. Katara never would have considered herself to be a very forward person, but this past summer spent traveling the world round with the avatar made her realize that some opportunities are handed to you, and others are...well, you have to make them for yourself. And that's exactly what she was doing now, even if it did take a little help from Sokka of all people after she finished dancing with Hau.

...

_"What happened to you?"_

_His hair was no longer in his signature wolf tail as it messily framed his face, and his clothes were disheveled she noticed. Even from where she sat, she could see his eye twitch and he turned to her in an instant, blue eyes that were so similar to hers darting around the cave as if someone would jump him at any second. "It's these fire nation girls! There was a bit of a scuffle earlier between these two guys and I went to break it up, but then the girls that watched thought I was amazing or something—not that I'm complaining about that—but they WOULDN'T LEAVE ME ALONE"_

_Katara had to bite her lip to stifle the laugh that creeped up her throat, but her attempt to hide the humor she found in it didn't go unnoticed by the boy and he shot her a look._ _"It's not funny! How would you like it if some of these guys dragged you to the back of the cave and practically pinned you against the wall?!"_

_'_ Does getting dragged around the dance floor count? _' The sardonic thought got a chuckle from her, but a suspicious look from the teen made her clear her throat quickly. Despite trying to flip the scenario to prove his point, she watched his eyes go wide once he realized just what he proposed before they narrowed and he frowned, "Never mind, any guy who tries to do that will have to get through me first"_

_"Good to know," She told him airily, giving him slightly mocking half-smile._

_"So, what's your excuse?"_

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"Ah baby sister," His coo did little to help as he leaned against the table and shook his head, the action causing her to straighten up and look at him more fully, eyebrow lifted in a somewhat challenging manner, "no one gets hair that looks like yours and a face as red as yours from sitting down."_

_"Sokka, I've been dancing for the last hour and this is the first time I've sat down so you can wipe that look off your face," Her eyes narrowed when her words had little affect on him, not very appreciative of his insinuation, "I mean it, I don't know what's going through your ungodly mind right now, but whatever it is, it's wrong"_

_His eyebrows rose slowly and he turned towards the dance floor, angling himself so that he was leaning his back against the edge of the table now as he hummed, "Oh I have a lot of thoughts right now, and I seem to_ _vividly_ _recall a dance between you and a certain nomad friend we all know and love"_

_"Oh," Seeing the way he wriggled his eyebrows at the end, she felt the heat rush to her cheeks and swallowed hard, quietly asking even though she knew the answer already, "You saw that?"_

_"Katara, half the fire nation_ felt _that," He shot her a look that said 'do I look blind?' and she pursed her lips when he rose an eyebrow, "I'm just surprised you guys didn't start making out right there"_

_In an attempt to hide the way her stomach gave an excited flip at the thought and the heat that came to her cheeks, trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him, she flatly remarked, "It was just a dance Sokka, quit making it sound like something else"_

_But that didn't stop the thoughts that continued that slippery slope of what could've happened, and it only deepened her blush. He looked ready to laugh, but shrugged, giving her an impish glance as he said, "Hey, I said it and I know you thought it," She could've water bent him right there if she had some water, the fire nation students the least of her worries right now with the sudden heat she felt creeping inside of her. "Where is Aang anyway?"_

_She wanted to know, but this conversation with her brother was getting far more unsettling than she expected it to be, not knowing just how much she'd rather crawl under a rock or toss him in the ocean at how well he managed to remind her of exactly why she couldn't let herself think too much about her best friend, and pointedly replied, "I don't know," keeping her voice as disinterested as she could get it while she tried to calm the train wreck that was her mind. '_ Get a grip Katara, you would be thinking the same thing if Sokka were talking about any other guy so quit pinning your hormones on Aang _'_

_"Maybe he's with that On Ji girl, or whatever her name was..." In her effort to look nonchalant, she had resettled her gaze out onto the dance floor, missing the way he stroked his chin thoughtfully and the quick glance he took of her before offhandedly commenting, "...they did look cute together, didn't they?"_

_Of course the mention of the fire nation girl only stirred up her feelings from before as she childishly thought, '_ Yeah, and maybe she could teach him water bending too. _' Despite feeling his eyes on her, she couldn't resist rolling her own blue ones as she scoffed, the sarcastic thought rushing to the forefront; but not until she heard his instantaneous shift and the loud exclamation he made did she realize that thought didn't stay between sealed lips. '_ Kill me now _'_

_"HA, I KNEW IT!" She turned to him with a fierce scowl and came face to face with the finger he threw at her, a wide and prideful grin on his face as he gleefully said, "you're jealous, aren't you?"_

_Without hesitation, she roughly slapped his hand away from her, eyes narrowing with the disconcert that word brought her. "No, I'm not!"_

_"Sure, you're not"_

_He wasn't in the least fazed by her reaction as he drew the words out, nodding his head with a tone that screamed 'I don't believe you one bit', and it shouldn't have peeved her as much as it did, but she was up on her feet in an instant and crossing her arms over her chest as if making a defiant stance would produce some truth to her words, "Sokka, I mean it, I'm not jealous of anybody"_

_"Mmhmm...and I'm sure Aang out there dancing with On Ji doesn't ruffle your dress any?"_

_"What?"_

_And he was right, the inquisitive word flying out of her mouth as she looked to where he was pointing. Eyes wide after registering his words and scanning the dance floor again, Aang was out there with On Ji, both keeping close to each other while he looked to be teaching her some more dance moves from the start of the night. She watched the way he twirled her around, laughing off when she accidentally stepped on his foot and he patiently showed her the right movement of her feet again, the second time around lending a more graceful and fluid motion between them, and it was all the water bender needed to see before she found her breathing going shallow again, the sing song voice of her brother being enough to release whatever green monster resided in her._

_"You're staring." She shot him the darkest glare she could in a sideways glance, and his hands went up in defense, "hey, don't get mad at me, I like Aang and I know you do too," She rolled her eyes at that, barely noticing the way his lips curled up as he said, "I'm just pretty sure you like him more than you lead on, is all. Look, just don't let me catch you guys making out in the back of the cave and we're good. I like the guy, but you're still my little sister and I will end him before the fire lord can if he gives me reason to, okay?"_

...

So that is what brought her to the split decision she made and why she was currently pulling her air bender behind her, biting her lower lip nervously as she forced herself to move forward with every step so she wouldn't have the chance to second guess herself. It unsettled her just how much the thought of liking Aang seemed to settle the raging war she'd been having the entire night between the knot of nerves in her stomach and the surprising thoughts that wouldn't leave her mind alone...and now that she was willing to entertain that thought, it was a bit distracting even holding his hand in hers.

She decided on a secluded corner that wasn't exactly out of view of curious eyes, but should be far enough out of earshot to keep their conversation private and no sooner had she let him go did she realize she had _no_ idea what to say to him.

Aang on the other hand did and the words were flying off his tongue as soon as she released his hand, whipping around to face her with a scowl. "What gives Katara?!"

She took a breath in and steeled herself for whatever explanation she hoped would come if she just started speaking, "Aang _—"_

"I didn't _drag_ you away when you were dancing with Hau earlier, did I?"

"Well, no but _—"_

"Then why did you?"

"Aang, I'm trying to _—_ "

"I promised On Ji I would show those dances to her, and this is the second time I've just left her standing there like that!"

Her eyebrows shot up, but he didn't answer her. "Second time?"

"And what was so important that you had to talk to me, huh? You didn't seem very talkative earlier"

"Woah, wait a second, that wasn't—"

"And why were you dancing with that guy of all people?"

Having watched him go from flinging his arms to the air at her in hot protest to now pacing the floor in front of her, his shadow against the wall as he went back and forth even beginning to annoy her as his voice got louder with every question or statement that flew out of his mouth; she'd had enough.

"Aang! For crying out loud, would you let me get a word in already!" She moved forward and grabbed a hold of the shoulder closest to her, placing a firm grip on it and pushing it back to grab the other so that he was facing her again. Caught off guard by the sudden physical contact, he went quiet and nodded solemnly.

"So, where we were you earlier? After I finished dancing with Hau, I couldn't find you anywhere," She began tentatively, knowing what she wanted to say but realizing after staring into his silver specked eyes that it would be harder than she thought getting it out of her mouth.

"Yeah, I took someone's advice and 'cooled off' outside" He curtly responded, thinking to himself ' _Not that it even worked a whole lot'_ as a familiar warmth began returning to his body, reminding him just how much of an effect she had on him when they were so close to one another.

"Oh right," Katara looked at him contemplatively for a moment, holding back the wince when his face from earlier that evening flashed before her eyes, "I wanted to apologize for that. I didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it did, and honestly I didn't really mean to say it at all like how it sounded," She paused a moment, debating her next words as she searched his still slightly pain stricken face before sighing, "I'm sorry Aang, I guess I just didn't like what Sokka said about you and On Ji, and then when I saw you talking to her after we danced... I don't know. Hau asked me to dance then and I thought it would take my mind off of it—He definitely got my attention after stepping on my foot for the fourth time I'll admit—but when you came up to us I.. just reacted on those same feelings from before"

She drew in a deep breath to compose herself as her heart began beating faster the longer she spoke, and hearing nothing from him after she finished only made her eyes widen slightly, going for the truth, albeit just not that much at one time. ' _I really just said all of that...why isn't he saying anything?_ '

' _Was Toph...right?_ ' He wondered, the hopeful thought causing his whole body to relax except for the thumping in his chest. "Wait, what did Sokka say about us?"

"Oh, um.." She should've expected that, but it still took her by surprise and sent a warmth to her cheeks, the rosy tint not going unnoticed by the air bender, "He said something about how the two of you looked cute together...or something like that"

At first she didn't hold his eye, glancing around at anything but knowing she couldn't fight back the blush on her cheeks as she may have well told him in plain that she _was_ jealous, and Aang wasn't sure how to take that as he just stared at her for a few seconds in shock until something began bubbling up his throat so quickly that he had no time to stop it.

"What's so funny?" Katara snapped her gaze back to him at the sound of his laughter filling the air and he clutched his stomach as the amount of emotion that washed over him in the instant almost made him nauseous.

"Katara, you almost sound jealous or something" He said, finally reigning in his laughter as he wiped a few tears from his eyes, ruefully thinking, ' _If only._ ' She didn't find the sentiment funny, however, and crossed her arms as she waited for him to finish and he quickly cleared his throat seeing her less than amused look. "Sorry, I just don't get why you would get upset over something as small as that. Sokka says a lot of things, but you almost never take everything he says seriously so why would him saying that be any different?"

' _Maybe because it involved you Aang_ ' but she kept that thought to herself, opting instead to retort as the memory of him on the dance floor with her sprung to the forefront of her mind, "Well, you seemed to be getting pretty _close_ with her earlier so I guess he wasn't too far off now was he?"

"We were _dancing,_ of course we were close to each other," He said, eyeing her suddenly closed off stance and taut face, and offhandedly adding, "That's probably more than I can say for you and Hau"

Her eyebrows scrunched together at that. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," He glanced away, stiffly shrugging his shoulders.

She took a step towards him. "What is it with you and him anyway? _Why_ does it bother you that I danced with him?"

He took a step back. "I never said it bothered me"

"Oh come one, I'm not the only one whose been acting a little on edge tonight," She rolled her eyes, taking another step towards him, "After that little staring contest you had with him earlier, I'm not buying it...you don't act like this when nothing is bothering you"

"I just didn't like the way he was dancing with you, okay? The guy may not be the best dancer, but I know he can tell his left from his right foot and he wasn't exactly _trying_ to be subtle"

She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, the whole point of this was to introduce them to dancing and self-expression so of course they aren't as great of a dancer as you are!"

Thinking back to the way Hau kept his hand around her waist even after they'd stopped dancing, he sarcastically quipped, "I guess him putting his hands all over you was some kind of self-expression then, right.."

"I suppose so, after all, that's all you were doing earlier wasn't it?" She asked lightly, glancing at him when his eyes widened and she saw a tinge of red stain his pale cheeks.

"I..." _'...'_ She wasn't entirely right, he barely touched her during their dance, _but..._ she wasn't entirely wrong either in the brief moments they had, which is why his mouth just opened in anticipation of something more, but then closed seconds later when nothing came. The glint in her eye made his mouth go dry and he started when a nervous step backwards told him the cave wall was a lot closer than he was hoping it to be, a few solid nudges to his back was almost prompting him to move forward again.

Whatever retort that was at the ready on the tip of her tongue vanished in that moment when he looked away from her, her eyes widening with the ghost of a smile starting to pull at her lips. ' _Maybe I'm not the only one who was jealous tonight_ ' And suddenly her impromptu plan was thrown to the wayside—really it had been forgotten altogether at this point—and so was someone else's words to her.

"Aang, do you remember right after our dance when everyone was clapping and we took a bow?" She kept her voice airy while fighting down the heat that wanted to come full blaze to her cheeks seeing that he wasn't denying her last question, and took another step closer to him so that their feet were nearly touching. Not entirely trusting his voice, he simply nodded in response. "You looked like you were going to say something then... do you remember what it was?"

With half of his brain only focusing on the water bender dangerously close to him and the other half dissuading the tempting idea to just close the distance already, his hand shot up to the back of his head and he replied truthfully, the dance itself almost becoming a blurry memory at this point as only the heated feelings from it remained, "J-Just that it was amazing I think..." And he used all the strength he could muster to keep his eyes locked on hers as she drew her bottom lip in, biting it as the corner of her mouth turned up slightly.

' _Amazing, huh?_ ' "It was, wasn't it?" She took a quick glance to the side, the music having all been but tuned out to both of them and the rational side of her brain was still aware of the party going on around them, to which no one was paying them any attention and she shifted her gaze back to him, his dark gray eyes swirling like smoke as they reflected the deep orange glow of the candles. Her heart began beating faster and the rock was cool against her sweaty palm as she placed her hand on the rock behind him.

"K-Katara, what are you doing?" ' _Is she..._ ' Barely able to see past the many excited flips his stomach was doing, his breath hitched as she leaned in close to him and the warmth on his face only got hotter with the addition of her breath mixing with his, and he had to grip the rock behind him just to keep his legs from betraying him.

' _Isn't it obvious Aang?_ ' She raked her eyes over his nervous features and swallowed hard, slowly drawing her brows together. "Something I should've just done after that dance"

Maybe she should've leaned in gently, given them both those few extra seconds to mentally prepare for this, but that was only an afterthought once she closed the already minute distance between them and met his lips with a force that sent him flush to the rock wall, the only thing her entire body and mind had been in agreement with the entire night was getting another taste of what he left on her lips back in those secret tunnels. And while the shock of her practically colliding into him was enough to make him gasp as the rock pushed into his back, the sudden feeling of her mouth pressed against his was more than welcomed and he kissed her back with just as much fervor.

Everything that surrounded them, the faint smell of smoke lingering on one another, the distant music that tried to keep up with the rhythmic beating of their hearts, the soft hazy glow that made it feel as though they were in a dream that could end at any given second; it all just seemed to amplify the experience of having each other so close. Lips that were soft and inviting despite being slightly chapped from the night, goosebumps that would arise and tingling sensations that were left from every inadvertent—but dubiously deliberate—touch of their hot skin, and the sighs of contentment that were finally released as their bodies melded so perfectly with each other... it was almost too perfect.

Unfortunately only one of them had an advantage when it came to breathing and Katara eventually pulled away first to satisfy the burning reminder in her lungs, and as her heavy breaths mixed with his lighter ones, he voiced the only coherent thought that had managed to come to mind, "Now _that_ was amazing," and she chuckled, the same sentiment going through her mind as well. The sound of her breathy laugh brought a warmth to his chest, and two words slipped his tongue quietly as he tried to make sense of what just happened. "But why?"

She smirked, lowering her eyelids as she said, "Well let's just say our first kiss left _quite_ the impression on me even if I never really showed it much"

"It did for me too, but I never said anything about it because you kind of dodged around it whenever it was brought back up. If you felt that way, then why didn't you say something?" He questioned why he was even asking all of this right now instead of kissing her again with the look she was giving him, but something in the back of his mind really wanted to know so, he continued, "After what happened with Jet, I... well, it just seemed like..."

She bit her lip subconsciously with a glance away, knowing why he hesitantly trailed off. "I don't really know to be honest with you... I knew I felt something, but I really didn't know _what_. When we met Jet, I did kinda like him at first, but those feelings were familiar. They were like the ones I'd had when I was little and I liked one of the other boys in my tribe... but with you it was different"

His lips curled up, more of a playful tone to his voice than a smug one as he quipped, "Well, I _am_ the avatar after all"

And the cute response got a small smile from her before an all too familiar heat rose to her cheeks again when she realized they were in a slightly compromising position and she slowly, albeit quite reluctantly, pulled away from him as she remarked, "Um, we should probably head back over there before On Ji comes looking for you or someone notices us over here," nodding her head towards the main area of the cave to emphasis her point.

He wasn't quite ready to end it there though. "Katara, no one is even looking over here, and besides," He quickly grabbed hold of her wrist and gently pulled her back, eliciting a small squeak of surprise from the water bender as her nose was once again nearly touching his. He gave her a half-lidded gaze with a small sly grin as he whispered before capturing her mouth once more, "as far as I'm concerned, it's just you and me right now"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this short story. It's drawn out compared to the many one-shots that cover this idea also, but oh well.


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